BwC S4E8 – Rohit Sharma | The Hitman (Part 1)

It was a good drive… -You know Braj?
– Hey guys, I know you… – Neerav
– I’ve seen you too! A lot happened while we were driving! Rohit, before we start,
should we take permission from ‘Ma’am’? Ma’am, please give us permission…
Bless us and our shoot! You’re laughing right now but you know
you have to do this all the time… – Personally and professionally
– Of course, I always do Only when I’m playing…
When I’m in the middle… Batting… That’s the only time
I don’t take permission… Because it’s quite instinctive…
You have to react quickly… That’s the one time when I don’t
take permission… Otherwise, always! You’ve only heard stories about how
she is when you’re batting, right? Has anyone showed you any footage or
has recorded her on a mobile phone… To show you how Ritika behaves
while you’re batting? I’ve seen a couple of clips…
During the IPL… Like this? No, she keeps her fingers crossed
all the time… As long as I’m there… Generally, in ODIs, I take the first ball…
However long I bat… In MI (MumbaI Indians), I bat at #4,
so a little less time… Sometimes, BhabhijI (Mrs. Nita Ambani)
sits with Ritika… And she was shocked… “She’s crazy! How does she sit like that
for such a long period of time?!” And I’m happy she wasn’t there
when I scored 264! That’s what I was going to say…
He goes and scores double hundreds… So you’re in tension
for an even longer time! Her hands will become
permanently crooked! MS Dhoni’s fingers are like this,
‘coz he’s a wicket-keeper… Her’s will become like that! He’s a wicket-keeper and she’s a faith-keeper…
You’re a keeper of the faith! So yeah, I won’t be surprised…
For the next few days… She’ll be like, “Hi Ro, how are you?”
She’ll be like this! I don’t know how she’s going to eat! – Her husband will feed her lovingly!
– Of course, I’ll do it! With loads of affection! She’s been a guiding light, truly… Not just in my good times, also in my bad times…
Also when we were just friends… And it means a lot to me also… When she’s there,
supporting me and watching me play. Not a single game that I’ve played
in MumbaI has she missed… I hope it continues… But when you guys met,
it was purely professional? Absolutely… And it was a funny story…
I’m a little embarrassed to tell you… It was a shoot that we were doing…
I was just 20 years old… Clueless… I reached the shoot location…
Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) & Irfan (Pathan) were also there… I went to meet Yuvi in his trailer…
You have to first pay your ‘respects’ to the seniors… I went to meet him to say hi…
Ritika was also there… Even before I said anything… Yuvi tells me that she’s like his sister…
So I shouldn’t even dare to look at her! I was like, “Yuvi pa?!!!
I’ve just come to meet you”. So throughout the shoot,
I was just looking at her angrily… I mean, ‘Who is she?
What’s with her attitude’. It was time for my shot… I didn’t
know what I was supposed to do… I was really nervous about
how things will turn out… I had to say a few lines… I tried…
It seemed like things went smoothly… But then, the Director tells me that
my mic wasn’t on… Nothing had been recorded,
so we would have to redo everything. So between the takes, I went out…
Ritika was there…. She sweetly told me that if I
needed any help, I could ask her… This was our first conversation…
And after that, we became very close friends. And then she started managing me… There was something, a connect…
Just as a friend back then… We did a couple of shoots together…
It was then a never-ending relationship… Since then it’s been a rollercoaster ride…
And of course, we got married in 2015 And yeah, we’re going strong! Do you remember meeting her family,
for the first time, when things got serious? Absolutely… We reached a point when
we decided we had to tell our families… So when I went to their house…
You know her father… – I mean, he’s so fun-loving…
– Fun- loving and without filters! – Yes, no filters… Absolutely right!
– He speaks his mind! Ritika’s mother is so sweet… I never felt
like I’m visiting someone else’s house… Even when we friends, I never felt like
I was going anywhere else… It was always like home… I remember going at weird hours to
their house… Food was always there… I could sit around, watch TV and
do anything… There were no issues. That was the kind of family that
I entered into… or I was entering into… So I was happy, I couldn’t complain…
And I’m sure I’m a good son-in-law as well! You can’t certify yourself…
That’s not allowed. I’m sure that if you ask them,
they’ll say the same thing about me. You were saying with your grandparents
in your younger days, right? Because that was a little closer than
where your parents were… To your training? Absolutely… My parents
weren’t so strong financially… So my dad had to leave me with
my grandparents to take care of me… My brother was with my parents… It was my grandfather who told my father
that taking care of both would be tough… “Leave one of the kids with me,
and keep the other with you”. So you were traveling then from
BorivaIi to Churchgate every day? Yes, my practice was at the Oval ground,
or the Azad Maidaan (in South Mumbai) Carrying your kit bag on the local train? Yes, and I had a few adventures….
Once my bag fell off… From a moving train?! Yes… And you know how tough it is to
catch a train to Churchgate…. It’s impossible! – Always overcrowded, people falling off!
– You just can’t get o n! I tried to somehow get on,
“Please… I have to go play a match”. Acting like a small, innocent kid… But I was told to go to the
goods & luggage compartment… I begged and pleaded,
and some guy finally let me in… But I was right at the door.
There was lots of pushing and shoving… In all that, I lost control…
My kit bag had wheels… The wheels slipped, I lost control…
The bag was too heavy for me… It fell right off the train….
I got out at Dadar station… I got a slow train back to Mahim station…
I walked along the tracks to look for it… – But the bag wasn’t anywhere.
– Once it’s fallen off a local train… No one could believe that
I lost my kit bag in this way…. But it happened, you know…
And so, I reached my training late… Sir punished me by not allowing me to bat…
So off I went and started fielding! That’s the worst form of punishment, right? When you’re a kid, you only want to bat…
No one likes to field… Cricket was popular in my family…
We all liked to play, to watch… So, if not 24 hours, at least 16 hours
a day we used to watch cricket. All my uncles… I have 6 uncles and 2 aunts. – A full team in the house?
– Absolutely! All my uncles played cricket at some point…
Maybe not at the highest level… But in their schools & colleges… Did they ever get involved in your game? Yeah, of course… When I played in the building, they would
look down from upstairs, keeping tabs on me… I broke a lot of the windows in the building! There were complaints, police complaints…
The police came as well… Police came because you broke windows?! Yes, because it wasn’t a one-off event,
it happened almost every day… All the neighbours were fed up…
3-4 of us were always playing cricket… So they complained…
The police came and threatened us too… “If it ever happens again,
you’ll be sent to jail”. Then we started playing in the field…
But kids will be kids…. We still played in the building often. Isn’t this very similar to Sachin
(Tendulkar)’s story? Absolutely… I’ve read his book
‘The making of a cricketer’. Even he left his family and
stayed elsewhere… – I think with a sister…
– Uncle and aunt, correct… His book really motivated me…
Reading his entire story… He’s been like a role model for me… Ever since I started playing cricket…
And I grew up watching him play… When I got to play with him in the end,
it was icing on the cake… I really enjoyed learning from him…
Looking up to him… How he prepares… What he does on the field and off the field… And how he manages his personality
off the field… Which is very important He is so humble… He never lets you feel
like he is a huge superstar… That is the kind of stuff I like because
I come from a very humble background… So I relate to all of that… I couldn’t have had
a more perfect role model than him! It was really special that I got my ODI cap
as well as my Test cap from him What’s with cricketers playing football?
It jeopardised your debut as well, didn’t it? Actually, let me clarify…
It wasn’t football, we had this Rocketball… It’s just a passing game… – A small rugby ball with a rocket behind it?
– That’s right And that day, the warm-up game was over… Our trainer, Paddy Upton…
He just threw the ball up. I don’t know why,
but I went to catch the ball… And Wriddhiman Saha also went
for the ball at the same time… My left foot somehow went on his foot…
And I twisted it… And he made his debut in my place, so it was… Oh, Wriddhiman is a smart one! Absolutely… And I was so emotional…
I said to hell with the injury, I’ll play! Even if I have to play on one foot, I will!
Who misses a debut? I was young then… Our physio then told me that by the evening,
my foot would be double in size… So it was quite bad… I couldn’t even walk! I remember putting my feet into
a bucketful of ice every day… Every 2 hours… That’s how you bring down the swelling…
It was so painful… Unbearable! And then watching the Test match on TV,
thinking, “I should be there!” I felt really bad… But it’s ok now…
I waited for another 3 years to get my test cap. – Do you want a coffee?
– Yeah, I’ll have a coffee… – I’ll also have a coffee… So 2 black coffees
– Yeah, please. – And Ritika, what will you have?
– Just black coffee You want some blueberry pancakes with maple syrup? They sound good… She had it yesterday… So not today. Do you want something? There was
some very good egg thing over here. I’ll try the ‘Bhurji’. Why do I keep looking at the ‘Puri Aloo’? I shouldn’t be looking at the Puri Aloo,
why am I looking at it? Is it very nice? -You’ll have half a Puri?
-No thanks, I’m good. I also won’t have, So give me the ‘Akuri’,
whatever Akuri you have… Akuri on toast will be good! – Do you cook at all?
– I’ve tried.. – Have you ever cooked anything for Ritika?
– Yes, of course I’ve cooked… She also likes eggs…
So I’ve made scrambled eggs for her… And how were they? Yum? No, no… They were just ok. She’s being a wife now, so obviously… – This is what you call true love!
– We’re both getting points But I will talk about her cooking, about which
I’ve been posting on my social platforms… – I put Instagram stories about her cooking…
– I’ve noticed. She’s started this new thing… She goes to the vegetable market
and buys vegetables on her own… And she gets things like Chipotle spices… I didn’t know, or rather…
I didn’t expect her to be able to cook like that! Even her family… I mean, her parents
are quite shocked with what she’s doing… – … In terms of cooking.
– She’s never cooked for us before! But now, her father makes sure
that whenever she’s at home… She has to cook for them! So, has all this happened by watching ‘Masterchef’? I don’t know… When I got married,
I asked her, “Can you cook?” Because I was playing a prank on her… “My mom said that if a girl doesn’t cook…
She cannot get married.” “I have to cook?!” I said, “Yeah, my mom is saying that
you have to… It’s a rule in our house”. She said, “I’ll try.”
I said, “Ok… Ok, no problem”. “She loves you, don’t worry…
You don’t need to cook and all that.” – So sweet… Poor thing, that’s not fair.
– It was quite a moment! No… But, she’s a master now,
I should tell you that… I’ll send you some recipes… Why don’t you just send me the food,
Instead of sending me the recipe?! – Yeah, both…
– Send me a lunchbox! Yeah, I’ll send you a lunchbox. I’ll taste it… Like ‘Masterchef Australia’…
Like the judges, “The texture is very good!” I love watching food shows…
Sport and food are the two realities of life! Absolutely! That’s all you want…
A good meal! 4 good meals throughout the day….
That’s what you work for… Eating good food is something that
gives you joy, it gives you mental peace… But, when you guys were kids…
When you used to go for training… You’d eat a ‘Vada-Pav’ or
whatever came your way… Absolutely, which is why
I value whatever I get now! When we were younger,
we had to eat what we got. Apart from ‘Vada Pav’ or ‘Sev Puri’ or ‘Pav Bhaaji’,
there wasn’t much at the ground. And these were the only things
we could afford as well… There was never ‘Broccoli with Black Bean Sauce’
and such fancy things. So we had to eat that…
It’s not like I don’t enjoy it anymore… I love Vada Pavs, I love Sev Puris… And I will make sure that in the
MumbaI Indians’ dressing room… We have one day when it’s all street food… Where everyone gathers and
they go bonkers on it – They all eat Pani Puris?
– Everyone! And some of them manage to
reach the hospital after that too! – A couple of our foreign internationals…
– There stomachs aren’t as strong. They enjoyed eating the food… But later,
they realized that they were in trouble. But they had fun… That’s a good team, right? The Mumbai Indians…
A good bunch of people… – A big bunch of people as well…
– I love it… It’s like family. Nice cup! – I find this cup a bit tricky
– No, it’s solid… Very stylish! See, ‘Stylish’ is a word you like… But we all know the word
that you don’t like! – ‘Talented’
– Duck! I knew it… That’s the word you don’t like…
And we also know why you don’t like it. Because somewhere, you feel that
it implies that you aren’t working hard. It also says that… I was all God gifted…
That I didn’t work on anything. Bro, I started cricket as an off-spinner! – You weren’t a batsman!
– I was never a batsman! My coach told me to at least try batting… And look where you landed! And he made me an opener in a school game,
where I performed well. Till the Ranji Trophy level, I played as
an all-rounder… I was a decent bowler… But ever since I injured my finger,
I can’t grip the ball properly… Now I just come and push the ball… Not like the veteran spinners like Bhajji
(Harbhajan Singh) & (Ravichandran) Ashwin. What they do with ball these days, I can’t! So from now on, we won’t use the word ‘Talented’,
but ‘Blessed’ seems alright. – Blessed is a good word
– Blessed…Use ‘Blessed’ I’ll tell you one interesting stat…
You are the only player in the IPL… Who has taken a hat-trick,
as well as scored a hundred. That’s a good stat to have! Hat-trick… I mean hat-trick!!!
I will take that any day! Scoring a hundred….
I’m not saying it’s easy… But a hat-trick was something
that I was never expected to take… And that too… No. 1 was Abhishek Nayar… No. 2 was Harbhajan Singh…
And No. 3 was JP Duminy… I mean they’re decent players…
Bhajju pa (Harbhajan) also has 2 Test centuries. And we know how good JP Duminy is!
And Abhishek Nayar, of course… – Your dear friend.
– My dear friend… And we had a big chat… Prior to that game, he told me when
I bowl to him, he’ll teach me a lesson… He was thre atening me… So I told him it doesn’t matter
how many runs or wickets you’ve got before… On the day, a run is a run.
And a wicket is a wicket. It doesn’t matter how I get you out.
Even if the ball bounces twice, you’re still out. That’s what Kedar Jadhav
is doing nowadays! He’s bowling sideways,
no one can figure him out. Kedar Jadhav is a 3-in-1 bowler… He bowls from here, here and here. I posted a picture of his and (Lasith) Malinga
on Instagram… They’re identical. Both have an action like this… What happens is… Their arm comes
from in front of the umpire’s body… It’s so difficult to sight … And you can’t
tell the umpire to move out… You can move the sight screen…
Up, down or sideways… But you can’t move the umpires. If you’re playing Malinga for the
1st or 2nd time, it’s not easy. – Kedar Jadhav, same problem?
-Yeah, but… Kedar Jadhav is slower through the air…
So you can adjust… But still, he’s doing a great job for the team! So out of all your IPL successes… Winning the tournament…
Picking up the cup, scoring a hundred… – Is the hat-trick the greatest moment?
– Absolutely…100%… I’ll keep my hat-trick right at the top…
Because no one expected it… Everyone thought I was a rubbish bowler…
Yuvi Pa (Yuvraj Singh) got really pissed off… Because even he’s taken 2 hat-tricks,
but he got both of them after I got mine… I had told him to come to me for some bowling tips… Because I had a hat-trick. – But he got 2 and then…
– Completely eclipsed you! Yeah, rubbed it in my face! When you joined the team, the Indian team,
who ragged you the most? Yuvraj Singh, who else!
What can I say? I was scared of him… Let me tell you about my first experience
with the Indian team bus… It was my first time…
So I reached the lobby an hour early… First, clean the bus! I went down and was waiting for an hour…
Looking out for the bus… Wondering what was going to happen…
Where people will come from… So I was sitting in the lobby…
The bus finally came and parked near the lobby… We were told we could board the bus… Gradually, it started to fill up…
I was looking at where people sat… “Oh, that’s where Sachin Tendulkar sits…
And that’s Rahul Dravid’s place.” There were a couple of my mates…
Not guys I’d played with… But they were closer to my age,
so I felt slightly less uncomfortable. So I was sitting… And there comes Yuvraj Singh! Man, I was a huge fan of Yuvi! Seriously, he came out
like a star footballer… Shorts, socks… Nice sunglasses…
Cap backwards… His headphones on… I’m like – There he is!
I could spot him all the way inside… So he came aboard the bus… I said, “Hi Yuvi pa… I’m Rohit.” He says, “That’s fine, but
do you know whose seat this is?” I said, “No, I don’t…” He says, “Bro, I sit there…
Go grab another spot!” I’m like what the heck is this… He didn’t actually say it like that…
But he did ask me to find another seat… I exaggerated it a bit… Because he always exaggerates
stories about me too… But it was a really bad first experience! – And he never spoke to you?
– He didn’t even talk to me on the first tour… He was the man of the series in Ireland…
I said, “Yuvi pa, well played!” He said, “Thanks” It was only later, at the T20 world cup…
After he hit his 6 sixes… So he was obviously in a good mood… So he asked me out for dinner….
“What do you like to eat?” I said, “I eat everything, let’s go!” And that’s how our interaction started.